But then so would a box set of, say, Breathless, Masculin Feminin, Wind from the East,
First Name Carmen and Goodbye to Language. Or throwing The Sex Thief into a collection of
Martin Campbell's James Bond films.

Obviously, the Alton set revolves around a certain type of cinematography carried out within
a certain genre, and it's a plausible supposition that purchasers will appreciate all four films.

Actually, I'd like to see a cinematographer's box set in the same vein of an actor/director
collaboration like Herzog/Kinski. But then I was just imagining a...Karl Fruend box set that
includes Metropolis AND his I Love Lucy episodes!

The notion of what defines an 'auteur' is always tricky. I like to think of a film as the
product of some kind of singular vision. And while you can certainly say this about the
films of (for example) Stan Brakhage as the work of an individual, the collaborative effort
that defines larger-scale filmmaking tends to muddy the waters. I like to look at the Alan
Clarke set from the BFI as an interesting example. Although Clarke is the constant figure
it's usually the writer who gets the prominent credit. Or with The Singing Detective,
should I regard the writer Dennis Potter or director Jon Amiel as the principle author?